ROCK HILL, SC – Winthrop senior middle hitter Taryn Surbaugh, head coach Joel McCartney and senior setter Emily Heckl were selected the 2006 Big South Volleyball Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, respectively, by the conference’s coaches and sports information directors on Monday.
Sophomore middle hitter Shannon Sitzman joined Surbaugh at the All-Conference First-team. Heckl, senior outside hitter Tori Grafeman and sophomore libero Pohai Nu’uhiwa were picked to the All-Big South Second-team and freshman outside hitter Emily Stockman made the All-freshman team. Heckl was also appointed to the All-Academic Team. “I’m very proud of Emily in what she has accomplished on the court and in the classroom,” said McCartney.
Surbaugh received 10 first-place votes and compiled a total of 182 points. UNC Asheville’s Elif Unlu followed with five-first-place votes and 157 points. The Winthrop senior was named Player of the Week three times this season and was voted tournament MVP at the Buccaneers Classic. She leads the Big South and ranks 24th in the nation for hitting percentage with a .397 mark. She also tops the league in blocks per game with a 1.36 average. “Taryn Surbaugh is not only the most dominant player, I think, in our conference, but also one of most dominant players right now in our region. She certainly represents our conference very well, not only in her play, but in her character,” said McCartney.
“I’m very appreciative to be recognized. I always believed these kinds of awards are more of a testament of what the program has done over the course of the season rather than any one particular individual," said McCartney, who has guided Winthrop to four straight Big South Conference championships and will be going for a fifth title in a row this week. “I have a great amount of respect for my fellow colleagues in this league and it is nice to feel that respect reciprocated.”
McCartney and the Eagles now look to start their 2006 Big South Championship campaign in solid fashion as they take on number eight seed Charleston Southern at the Winthrop Coliseum at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Birmingham-Southern/High Point match on Friday at High Point.
2006 Big South Conference Volleyball Award Winners
First-team All-Conference
Taryn Surbaugh, MH, Winthrop
Shannon Sitzmann, MH, Winthrop
Elif Unlu, OH, UNC Asheville
Autum Black, MB, Liberty
Jamie Kaufman, OH, High Point
Jenni Sheperd, MB, Charleston Southern
Raquel Miotto, DS, UNC Asheville
Second-team All-Conference
Emily Heckl, S, Winthrop
Tori Grafeman, OH, Winthrop
Pohai Nu’uhiwa, DS, Winthrop
Michelle Maciejewski, OH, Birmingham-Southern
Casey Demos, MB, Birmingham-Southern
Josie Hanners, S, Radford
Kallie Corbin, S, Liberty
All-Freshman Team
Emily Stockman, OH, Winthrop
Kallie Corbin, S, Liberty
Milica Stojanovic, S, Birmingham-Southern
Jill Nyhof, MB/OH, Coastal Carolina
Sarah Harris, OH, Birmingham-Southern
Raquel Miotto, DS, UNC Asheville
Academic All-Conference
Emily Heckl, S, Winthrop
Andra Krautmanis, OH, Birmingham-Southern
Canan Erdogan, MB, Charleston Southern
Laura Obert, MB/RS, Coastal Carolina
Lauren Hatch, DS, High Point
Autum Black, MB, Liberty
Melinda Clelland, MB, Radford
Elif Unlu, OH, UNC Asheville
Player of the Year
Taryn Surbaugh, MH, Winthrop
Freshman of the Year
Kallie Corbin, S, Liberty
Coach of the Year
Joel McCartney, Winthrop
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Emily Heckl, S, Winthrop
